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At Victor, It’s Time for Innovation
Victor’s sustainable design development is our positive vision for the future. Together with our partners, we’ve embraced the value of protecting and sharing all of the Earth’s resources for today and for tomorrow.
Our guiding principles are embodied in our Eco Intelligence® Initiatives, a philosophy of sustainability covering four key areas: Partnerships, Products, Processes, and People with Passion. Eco-Intelligence Initiatives are the fruit of our Cradle-to-Cradle Design agenda, bringing sustainability and comprehensive textile innovation together.
Partnerships
Our goal is to foster continuing insight into sustainable design and manufacturing practices within the textile industry so that we can be both a resource for and an inspiration to companies who share the same commitment to preserving the health of the planet. This is the legacy we intend to leave to future generations.
Our design and production processes have been revolutionized through partnerships with:
McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry
DesignTex
The Natural Step
Rohner Textile AG
By sharing knowledge and expertise with our partners, we’re developing products that meet the highest standards for sustainable performance, consistency, reliability, and aesthetics. We’re also designing seating, panel and furniture system fabrics that benefit the environment in every phase of production and use.
Products
The first product developed within our Eco Intelligence® platform, Eco Intelligent® polyester, is a synthetic textile designed for sustainability from start to finish. (Designs are available for both seating and panel applications.)
To be precise, Eco Intelligent® polyester is an antimony-free polyester (heavy-metal-free polyester). It is designed to be used, recovered and remanufactured safely and effectively throughout multiple product lifecycles—the first textile designed as a technical nutrient. Following McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry protocols, the new fabric is produced with materials and manufacturing practices that are optimized for human and environmental health and safety.
Yet there’s no need to sacrifice style and performance when designing with sustainability in mind. A passion for innovative design yields fabrics with exciting yet sophisticated colors, patterns, and textures, making Eco-Intelligent® Polyester a leader in aesthetics, as well as sustainability.
Other sustainable textile projects include the development of new seating and panel products using recycled polyester from post-consumer and post-industrial PET.
Learn more about Eco Intelligent® Polyester textiles.
Processes
The way you make a product is just as important as what you make.
We start by using the most environmentaly friendly chemicals available in the manufacturing process. We also:
use renewable, hydroelectric energy (2003 average was 86% of total energy usage)
track energy, water and raw material use
reduce waste at all levels of operation
minimize the need for backings and coatings
eliminate the need for lubricants through our proprietary spinning process
continually train staff in protocols of lean manufacturing and sustainable design
adhere to the policies and procedures of our ISO 14001 certification
use 100% recycled and recyclable packaging
All Eco Intelligent® Polyesters have been rated “Level 4” within the McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry Optimization Scale for eco-effectiveness. This is a five-step optimization scale (with five being the highest level) representing progress in assessing and optimizing a product’s material composition and production processes.
To attain a Level 4 rating, all component dyes and auxiliary chemicals must pass McDonough Braungart’s strict measures of safety. A Level 4 product is considered “Optimized”. This means the product has been fully assessed and, to the extent feasible, optimized for material health and safety according to MBDC’s Cradle-to-Cradle Design Protocol for Material and Chemical Assessment. In addition, Eco Intelligent polyesters are designed for optimal value recovery within closed-loop systems.
People
Our president, Alain Duval, has always been passionate about the environment. Looking back on Victor’s 56-year family-owned history, he recalls his grandfather recycling wool scraps as “more than smart business; it was efficient use of resources.”
And now we’re going even further. The Victor Environmental Task Group (ETG) is dedicated to improving our sustainable practices on an ongoing basis. Victor’s sustainable initiatives involve these activities:
Lean Enterprise principles
Continuous Improvement system
ISO 14001 certification
Waste management
Use of both post-consumer and post-industrial recycled polyester.
100% recycled and recyclable packaging
Standard recycling program for cardboard, paper, shipping materials, batteries, and fluorescent lamps
Online tracking of the company’s environmental data
Today, we’re attuned to the community, inside and outside our doors.
Only people bring passion to the table and only passion generates commitment. Eco Intelligence® Initiatives are driven by a passion to ensure safe workplaces, healthy communities, and sustainable products–the result is passion that can build a better world.
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Glossary
